Ring magnet tooling passes qualification steps in China

At China's Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP) the qualification activities for ITER's poloidal field magnet #6 (PF6) have kicked off and the results have been overall positive.

At China's Institute of Plasma Physics (ASIPP), activities to qualify the tooling and materials for the fabrication of ITER's poloidal field magnet #6 (PF6) continue. This second-smallest ring magnet for ITER will be fabricated in China on the basis of an agreement concluded with the European Domestic Agency.

In January, we reported on the successful trial activities for the winding tooling, as well as qualification steps for the vacuum chamber and welding and insulation procedures.

In the latest news, helium inlet welding was further trialled and tooling for de-spooling, for connecting lengths of conductor with their power feeders (dummy joint boxes), and for supporting the weight of the coil assembly during insulation and impregnation were tested. All of these qualification steps allow engineers to spot potential manufacturing problems and introduce improvements so that the final coils are in line with specification.

A four-day audit by the European Domestic Agency was also conducted on all processes, the handling of raw material, documentation and standards.